Canning Pantry-- with chalkboard ledge to protect jars and provide a way to label the goods

Several months ago I came across This post about an Awesome Canning Pantry then when we moved I had the perfect place to put my own, and I have a husband that likes to work with wood. I really like the idea that she had about a lip on the shelves to help protect the jars from falling to the floor. And I REALLY liked the idea about painting them with chalk so you can label what is on each shelf. I know what is in the jars by just looking at them but my son and Husband may not so the labels will be nice. 

As you can see I NEED TO GET CANNING my shelves are empty and I rarely have this little on the shelf.

 I put a plastic waffle shelf liner on the shelves with the empty jars (All of which were full at the end of last summer) to help them from shifting. I may eventually line all the shelves but for now I just did the empty jars. Also the bottom shelf and the top we still put the trim with the chalkboard paint but they are flush with shelf since those shelves will be holding larger items, and did not want to fight the edge. I also had some rubber matting from another house and I placed it along the floor to help with messes also.

My husband also built this work table (which is 3 foot by 8 foot to show scale) and I am sure will be spending a lot of time working on it. 

 I also plan on storing some bulk items on these shelves but as you can see those shelves also need to be filled up so I will update this post once my shelves are fuller.

If you want to start canning here are some more posts you may want to check out. 
What you need to START Canning

More Canning Tips

Cilantro Lime Rice

Rice Prepared according to package,  I actually prefer minute rice for this recipe. I add 1 minced garlic clove for every 2-4 servings.
Then for Each 2 servings of prepared rice you will need: (so if you prepared 4 servings you will double the following etc) 
1 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon  Fresh cilantro, chopped fine (dried cilantro does not turn out well) juice from 1 lime (may need more)
Once the rice is cooked simply stir in the other ingredients and serve.  You may need to adjust salt and lime to to fit your tastes but we LOVE LOVE LOVE this rice when we have Mexican.

Yellow Rice, Black Beans & Chicken

Yellow Rice, Black Beans & Chicken

Submitted by Ann Kelly

This version is served with a little cheese dip and diced tomatoes

We really like this dish and I can cook the chicken the night before and cook enough for two meals to add to the rice and beans the next night.

1 package yellow rice prepared as package states
2 cans black beans
Dried onions (or diced onions)
Chicken
Cajun seasoning

I cook the chicken on the stove with a little olive oil and cover with Cajun seasoning. I get chicken tenders and beginning cooking while they are still frozen, as they thaw you get a little water and don’t have to use much oil. Can serve over rice and beans as whole chicken tenders or dice.

Put black beans, onions with salt, pepper, and garlic while rice and chicken cook.

To serve make a bed of rice then beans and chicken on top.
In the picture, the one with whole tenders is my husband's and he likes chips and salsa with his and I like my chicken diced on top with other veggies.

Spring at the farm

I LOVE when the garden starts to produce. While I don't have a farm my father is just a few miles away and I his animals and space for a large garden. This was what I brought home today!!! I LOVE IT!!! Things taste so much better when they are fresh and when you have grown them and spent time caring for them it tastes even better. 

Crab Crusted Tilapia

This is a really simple dish that seems much more exciting.  I threw this together one night when I was trying to use what I had on hand and LOVED it and it is actually on the menu for this week. I just used the topping on 2 large fillets of Tilapia but it would be enough for 3, my son just would not eat it with the crab on top. 

1 can crab meat, drained

3 tilapia filets

1-2 garlic cloves diced

1/2 stick of butter

House seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic salt)

Parmesan cheese, shredded 

Melt the butter and add the crab, garlic, and house seasoning, and mix well, Then add the mixture  over the top of the tilapia then add a little shredded Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees  for about 25-30 minutes.  I also topped with a few micro greens. 

Kumato Tomatoes... Great out of season tomato

Thought I (Ann Kelly)  would share this find. We have been enjoying Kumato tomatoes for the past couple of winters.  I LOVE tomatoes but I NEVER buy store bought tomatoes, I only normally eat garden fresh tomatoes in the summer but these are good when you just need a fresh tomato.
They are a little brown, or green in color but they actually taste like a good tomato, they are pretty firm but hold up well in dishes and salads. I like to dice them up and put a little salt on them before adding them to my dish for a little added flavor. 
You will ONLY find them in a box like the one in the picture and wrapped in plastic my Sam's Club even carries them, and my store has just started having a cherry tomato version. 

Roasted Asparagus

roasted asparagus
Submitted by Ann Kelly
Photo by Amber

This is a recipe that has been on the blog for a few years but just realized we didn't have a pic for it so we have added one.

Take one bunch fresh asparagus break the woody ends off. Toss in Olive Oil, garlic salt, and pepper or you can just use house seasoning.

Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 15-20 mins.

I also like to add sliced mushrooms to this.

Freezer Pizza

PIZZA FOR THE FREEZER

Submitted by Leslie

Pictures by Ann Kelly

Pizza Dough

2 Cup flour, all purpose
2 Teaspoon active dry yeast
1 Teaspoon sugar
1⁄2 Teaspoon salt
3⁄4 Cup water, warm
2 Tablespoon olive oil

For AUTOMATIC BREAD MACHINE, place ingredients in container in following order: water, olive oil, flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Select Dough setting and press Start.
For FOOD PROCESSOR, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a measuring cup; let stand until bubbly--about 10 minutes. Stir in olive oil and salt. Insert metal blade or plastic dough blade. Place flour in work bowl. With motor running, pour yeast mixture through the feed tube in a steady stream, as fast as the flour absorbs it. When the dough forms a ball, stop the machine. Process continuously for 45 seconds to knead. Shape the dough in a ball, and place in greased bowl; turn to grease top. Let rise in a warm place until doubled--about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Pizza
Ingredients - This is your households preference......

12 Ounce mozzarella cheese, grated
1⁄4 Pound Italian sausage, browned
1⁄4 Pound ground beef, browned
1⁄4 Cup onion, chopped and sauteed
2 Ounce pepperoni slices
2 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 pizza crust
1 1⁄2 Cup marinara sauce or pizza sauce

To assemble: prepare Pizza Crust as directed.
Spray pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Gently stretch Pizza Crust to fit pan, forming raised edge at lip. Sprinkle crust with grated mozzarella cheese.
Dot with browned sausage, ground beef, pepperoni and chopped and sauteed onion. Gently spread Marinara Sauce to cover cheese and toppings (This is the secret to a crisp crust - sauce on the top!): flash freeze pizza in pan. When frozen, wrap in aluminum foil.

We used hamburger, sausage, and bacon and different types of cheese that we were already using for a freezer cooking day. 

To prepare: do not thaw pizza. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake frozen pizza for 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is browned, sauce bubbles and cheese is fully melted.

 When I pulled my pizza out of the freezer I added a little cheese and onions before baking.

Crockpot Pulled Pork Butt

Crockpot Pulled Pork Butt (Marc's recipe)

Submitted by Amber

5-7 pounds Pork Butt
2 cups water
1 tsp Dale's seasoning
4 dashes tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of mesquite seasoning

Put all ingredients in crockpot and cook overnight.

 Pull pork apart and serve with your favorite barbeque sauce.

Hamburger Casserole

Hamburger Casserole

Submitted by Ann Kelly

This recipe came from my friend Katie... She told me the recipe one night and I tried to remember till I got home and my husband LOVED it and I have made it for him several times. It is not my favorite but It is super easy and like I said He LOVES it which is not an easy feat. He comes home most days for lunch so it make a good lunch for him for a couple of days or a good dish for when I go out of town for a day or two to leave at home for him.

So take a pound of hamburger (remember I brown several pounds at once and freezer in bags so this really cuts down on the cooking time for this meal).
Dice up some onions (about 1/2 cup)
peppers (what ever you have about 1/2 cup)
my friends uses some celery but I DO NOT LIKE celery I sometimes add a little
salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans of cream of something soup

 Brown the Burger and add the veggies for a few mins. just till they soften a bit.

Mix with a cup or so of shredded cheddar, 2 cans of cream soup (I like on cream of celery, and one cream of chicken) salt, pepper, and garlic, and 1 cup of dry minute rice.

Mix all together once burger mix is ready add to the rice mixture and pour in a baking dish and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes EASY and GOOD

Buffalo Chicken and Potato Casserole

Buffalo Chicken and Potato Casserole 

Let me start by saying this was AMAZING! I saw this floating around on Facebook and THIS is the page that I used the original recipe from. I did change some things on the recipe and we LOVED this dish. 

about 1-2 pounds of chicken (I used less than 2 pounds)

4 potatoes peeled and diced

olive oil

house seasoning

small red onion

Franks red hot sauce

ranch dressing 

shredded Monterrey jack cheese

real bacon crumbles or you can cook bacon and crumble (I cooked bacon and crumbled it)

chives or green onions (I didn't have green onions so I used chives)

Preheat the oven to 450. Peel and dice the potatoes and chop about half of a small red onion and put in a 9x13 baking dish. I poured some olive olive and mixed the potatoes around so it greased the pan as well. Then I sprinkled them with some house seasoning. Bake potatoes until tender.

While the potatoes are baking cook the chicken in a skillet with some olive oil. I sprinkled the chicken with some house seasoning as well. I cute the chicken in bite sized pieces and added Franks red hot sauce and mixed it together well. 

Once the potatoes were done cooking I added some ranch dressing to them and mixed it together. I then put the chicken on top of the potatoes, sprinkled it with cheese and bacon crumbles and chives.

I put entire mixture back in oven and kept it in long enough for the cheese to melt.  It was AMAZING!

FINALLY!!! Gluten Free Bread (Loaf)

My son has been Gluten Free for almost 4 years and Gluten Free baking has scared me. I just bought a mix if I need brownies or a cake but recently he has been wanting sandwiches and bread daily and at $6 a loaf (a small loaf at that) it adds up quick so I finally ordered all the flours, starches, and gums needed to actually bake Gluten Free from scratch. This was our first real attempt at a loaf of bread and it was a success.

brown rice flour is not in the picture 

 Here is what you will need to make this bread.

warm water (105°-110° F)
sugar
Active Dry Yeast
brown rice flour
potato starch (not potato flour)
tapioca starch/flour
½ cup sugar
xanthan gum
salt
vegetable oil or melted butter
large eggs
warm milk or milk of choice

 and you can find the recipe  HERE

Makes one 9x5-inch loaf or two 6-inch round boules.

this is before baking

This bread is light for a gluten free bread and cooked all the way through, which I have had issues with before when cooking Gluten Free, and it sliced up nicely. I have part of the loaf in the freezer and it it holds up well, we will be making several loafs to have in the freezer. 

I ordered all my flours, starches, and gums from Vitacost  you may find them cheaper if you shop around but I could get them all from Vitacost without leaving my house.

NOTE: I used free range farm eggs so the bread has a little bit of a yellow color, if you use regular store bought eggs it will be whiter.